YOUTHS SHUN TRADITIONAL NEWS
CNA reached out to several young people to understand the issues that matter in the election, but most declined to appear on camera.
A 25-year-old who agreed to speak said it has become difficult for people not to take things personally.
“It’s unsafe, for lack of a better word. I think you never know how your opinion is going to be construed by somebody and that becomes very difficult to convey,” said New Delhi resident Protiti Bhattacharya.
“When you have an opinion to convey, you can’t be sure that someone is going to listen to you, take whatever you’re saying in that moment, not personally.”
Because of this, many in her generation have shunned traditional television news outlets for independent, online news portals, which they believe report more freely and robustly on issues that youths care about.
Ms Protiti said that news channels are putting out better productions, but with “no real value”.
“I think the difference between what an op-ed or what an opinion and what news is has just gotten completely conflated at this point,” she added.
Those who agreed to speak cited education and climate change as pressing issues in this election.
Mr Sparsh, a 27-year-old public policy consultant, also pointed to how India is perceived on an international stage, along with inclusivity and what the government is doing for the poorest.
“(Both) the urban and rural youth are becoming a lot more sensitive to inclusive development,” said the New Delhi resident, who did not want his last name to be used.
Ms Protiti said that the climate crisis and employment are at the top of the list for her.
“The reason that so many people voted for the BJP in 2014 was because of their roaring success. (They said) we will bring more employment opportunities back, etc. (But) that’s not happening,” she added.
